Want to know what the Bruins need to do in game 7? Look no further, as Oritt Blum tells us the Bruins plan to winning the most crucial game of the series.
Down two games to none in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Boston Bruins have found themselves in serious trouble, but they are bringing the next two games to home ice. I have no doubt Boston fans will show up in massive numbers, bringing their team energy and encouragement in a place aptly dubbed as the sports city of America; the real question is, will that be enough? Does the underdog have what it takes to come back and even up the series?
Vancouver has played hungry the entire season; a team that has never brought home the Cup has been schooling veteran champions until it got to where it is today: two games away from taking it all. The Sedin brothers don’t look like they have any plans to slow down, either.
If Boston wants any chance of winning, it needs to see numbers from its top line of former Vancouver Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and Nathan Horton. The trio combined for 184 points during the regular season and has recorded 17 goals and 19 assists throughout the Bruins’ 12 postseason victories, finishing with a plus-29 rating. In the seven postseason losses the Bruins have allowed, this top line had a mere seven points with a minus-6 rating. In six of those seven losses, the opponents completely shut the trio down. This series, the star-studded line is going up against the likes of Selke Trophy nominee Ryan Kesler and wingers Mason Raymond and Christopher Higgins.
“We’d like to create more scoring chances. We’re the top line, so we’re expected to score goals, you know?” Krejci said at a Friday skate before Game 2 took place. Yes, Krejci, we definitely know.
The power play is what gets to me most. Boston has been winning all year long without using the man-advantage. However, if the Bruins began to utilize its power play, finding ways to put the puck in the net during those situations, it might just find itself ahead of the Canucks. During the first round of the playoffs, the Bruins failed to record even one goal on the power play.
Round 2 wasn’t much better, during which they scored two against the Flyers. Even their series against the Lightning, which went to seven games, they scored a mere three man-advantage goals. Five goals through three rounds put Boston at a 7.5% success rate (if you can even call that a success rate). In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals they went 0-for-6. That’s right, they capitalized on a total of zero out of six opportunities. Game 2 was a slight improvement, with Mark Recchi’s power play goal giving the Bruins a 2-1 game lead.
The controversy in Game 2 revolved around the lack of punishment that went to Alex Burrows following his finger-bite on Patrice Bergeron. Most Boston fans would argue that Burrows, who played a part in all three Canucks goals Saturday including the overtime winner, should not have been allowed to play in Game 2. Clearly, he was, but to make matters more interesting, Burrows’ teammate Maxim Lapierre got into Bergeron’s face, literally. He shoved his fingers towards the native Canadian’s mouth, daring Bergeron to bite him.
The Bruins finally looked like they had some momentum going during the second period in Game 2. After struggling to put anything behind Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, Boston finally ended his shutout by scoring their first two goals of the series in a row. In the end, though, it was the Canucks who took over control, just like in Game 1. They outshoot Boston in the third period 11-5, and while only one of those 11 shots made it past Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, it was enough to send the game into overtime. It took Burrows and Vancouver a mere 11 seconds to end the game in OT. Boston needs to look and act the part of championship contenders for the entire 60 minutes of every game, and then some.
The Bruins are no strangers to trailing in a series; in Round 1, they were down two games to none against the Habs, which they promptly came back to win in seven. Unfortunately, statistics aren’t on their side. Teams that go down 2-0 in the finals of the Stanley Cup have an overall record of 4-42. The Bruins will need to bring a major bite (no pun intended) to Game 3, which tips off at the Boston Garden on Monday, June 6th.
- Oritt Blum
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